Philosophy, Law and the Family

Laurence Houlgate is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California.  He received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in philosophy at the University of California, Los Angeles, and has previously held professorships at the University of California, Santa Barbara and George Mason University, Virginia.  He has published many articles in legal and philosophical journals and is the author of The Child and the State, Family and State, and Morals, Marriage and Parenthood.

• Chapter 1. Introduction.- Part I. Law, morals and the U.S. constitution. Chapter 2. Natural law theory.- Chapter 3. Legal positivism.- Chapter 4. Theories of constitutional interpretation.- Part II. State intervention. Chapter 5. The limits of state intervention in the family.- Chapter 6. Child neglect and abuse.- Chapter 7. Family crimes.- Chapter 8. Family torts and remedies.- Part III. Marriage, parents and children. Chapter 9. Marriage: access and alternatives.- Chapter 10. Children, parents and the stage.- Part IV. Family planning and the law. Chapter 11. Custody and surrogate parenthood.- Chapter 12. Abortion and disposal of frozen embryos bibliography.